Open Season on the Police?

In the wake of the murders of Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, armed attacks on law enforcement have continued across the country. In Florida, a drive-by shooter fired at two sheriff’s deputies. In North Carolina, two black men fired six shots at a police officer. In Los Angeles, two police officers were shot at in their patrol car.

Are these enough incidents to constitute a trend? Let’s hope not. But there is no doubt about the fact that a “kill the police” movement exists. In Portland, demonstrators chant, “Deck the halls with rows of dead cops”:

Who is behind the anti-police movement? We have already noted that a Communist, pro-terrorist group called International ANSWER was prominent in anti-police demonstrations in New York. Here is another one: these people are carrying signs that say, “Ferguson is Everywhere. Police Brutality and Murder MUST STOP!” Across the bottom, the signs say “revcom.us”:

Revcom.us is the web site of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA. The organization’s title is not ironic.

Random attacks on police officers are a form of terrorism. As with other sorts of terrorism, violent acts do not exist in a vacuum. Only a tiny handful of people are willing to commit murder for a cause, but they are sustained by a network of ideologues, supporters and apologists. We can only hope that in this instance, the anti-police movement will be shamed out of existence before more lives are lost.